Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Wow, what a drag to have Halloween on a Monday! I was asked by several people if I was going to dress up, but I wasn't going to dress up just to bake at home. That could be a fire hazard! Last year, I made a cupcake costume and I had polyfill in places I never knew existed! Speaking of costumes, I received a call from my sister saying that she was going to wear a name tag with "Margarita" on it and she was going to stand on a rock. Get it? Margarita on the rocks. My sister, ladies and gentlemen!

It was Bakingpalooza at my house this weekend! I was asked by my Mom's friend to create a dessert table for about 40 people for a Birthday/Halloween party she was having the day before Halloween. I went over to her house to check out the table that I would be working with and it was ideal for a Halloween party! It looked like it belonged in a haunted mansion along with a creepy wonky-eyed butler that goes around asking people, "Would you like a drink?". It reminded me of that Saved by the Bell episode where "the gang" wins a weekend trip to the murder mystery house. Point of the story: the table was AWESOME! 

All the items on the menu were (appropriately) given Halloween names. Here's a picture of the menu!

Chocolate Peanut Butterfinger Cupcakes and Cookies 'N' Scream Cupcakes

Ghoulish Pumpkin Swirled Cheesecakes

Red Velvet Cheesecake Eyepops

Of course, my sister and I were cracking jokes for two days over the eyepops. "Quit eyeing the lollipops and take the picture!" "I've got my eye on you!" I too am guilty of sending pictures of these eyepops to people along with the message, "I'm watching you!"

For the cupcakes, I wanted to do things a little differently and I put them in clear cups - a true meaning to the term "cup" cakes. For the eyepops, I bought some gauze and I made some fake blood out of cocoa powder, water and red food coloring and wrapped it around a piece of styrofoam. Hey, I like to save money where I can! All in all, the party was a success and the desserts were a hit!

Onto Halloween Day!

This year, I had the idea of making mini desserts for the parents of the trick-or-treaters, (accompanied by contact cards, of course). Ironically, while I was baking away, the episode of Friends came on when Monica makes candies for her neighbors! I'm not going to lie, this morning, I had a little anxiety as I was nervous about whether or not the desserts would be well received as a lot of parents are extra cautious on Halloween and understandably so.

I made everything bite-sized; a dessert amuse-bouche if you will.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Pumpkin Swirled Cheesecakes on a Gingersnap Crust, Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches filled with Homemade Marshmallow Fluff and Chocolate Brownies with Cream Cheese and Milk Chocolate Pieces.

To my pleasant surprise, everyone LOVED the idea! A little boy even told me, "You should do this more often!" I ran out of candy and desserts within an hour! I thought 200 pieces of candy would be enough, but I was wrong. Our neighborhood was the busiest I had ever seen it! All the kids were so cute and polite and let me tell you, GREAT for networking! They kept sending their parents my way!

 

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! Don't forget to hit up the candy sales tomorrow!

Have a great week everyone!!!